Update: Michael Bay is officially coming back … for part 4, but not part 5, or the back-to-back films that were originally planned. Paramount has slotted the 4th entry for June 29th, 2014. Original post below.

Over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office will get plenty of tongues wagging about a sequel. That’s what the third “Transformers” movie did — $1.1 billion in box office muscle. So with that in mind, you gotta know that Paramount will be making a “Transformers 4″ with or without Michael Bay. And while the director’s involvement in the upcoming fourth film is still not official, it’s looking very likely that he’ll sign on.

As to when you can expect to see a fourth entry in the transforming robot franchise? Producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura thinks you’ll be able to buy your kids some “Transformers 4″ Happy Meal toys by 2014. He tells SuperheroHype:

We’ll be there in the summer of 2014.

Well, that settles that.

So what about Bay returning for the fourth time ’round?

Michael had a debate because he sort of felt at first that he’d done three. Michael and I are both the same in that we always like to top ourselves. That doesn’t necessarily mean bigger. It can be bigger in places, it just means different, but we’re going to push really hard as fresh and new as we can be.

Sounds like he’s confident Bay will return. Or at least, he didn’t say he wouldn’t.

Shia LaBeouf has already said he isn’t interested in coming back, which means a new hero for the franchise. Jason Statham’s name has been oft-rumored, and I suspect he’d jump at the chance if offered the role. Who would honestly say No to a sure-fire Summer hit film?

So what about the plot of the fourth movie? The producer compares it to what they’re currently doing with “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”, which is to say, reboot-ish:

Again, we’re going to try to do a hybrid there where there will be some characters that come forward–we think, we’re still in the process of figuring it out–and some characters that don’t, but it will definitely be a different story.

Di Bonaventura also confirms that Bay’s next movie, the relatively small-budgeted “Pain and Gain” with Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson as a pair of muscleheads who get caught up in a crime will start shooting on location in Miami this April.

Also, the “Salt” sequel is still in the works, with a script currently being worked on, but Di Bonaventura says it won’t happen without star Angelina Jolie, who, last we check, is busy directing and starring and raising half of Africa, so we’ll have to see.